UPDATE: Veteran Arturo faces arrest for contempt in courtroom

posted by Lana N. | 3pt
April 25, 2013

On Friday, marine veteran Arturo de los Santos will stand in a hearing to explain why he has refused to leave his home, which was unfairly foreclosed upon by Freddie Mac and JP Morgan Chase. Read this breaking press release on the latest in his case:

Homeowner and family raise legal issues with foreclosure and eviction, and ask “why did they foreclose when we were trying to pay?”

MORENO VALLEY – On Friday, March 2 Riverside County Superior Court Commissioner Thomas S. Hudspeth will force homeowner and Marine Art de los Santos to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt and arrested for re-entering his vacant foreclosed Riverside home. Apparently prepared to ignore legal and procedural issues with the foreclosure and eviction, Hudspeth will also consider mortgage giant Freddie Mac’s request to force the Riverside County Sheriffs Department to evict Art, his wife and four kids from the property.

According to news coverage of a hearing held last week, Commissioner Hudspeth has summoned Art, Freddie Mac, and the Sheriffs Department to the hearing. In court, Art and legal counsel are prepared to raise legal issues with the foreclosure and eviction.

Reporters wishing to cover the proceedings can request permission by calling (951) 777-3147. In previous hearings Commissioner Hudspeth has denied permission to record inside the courtroom.

A group of supporters will be present at Friday’s court hearing and plan to return to the house following the verdict.

After days of sidestepping questions about why they won’t work with homeowner and Marine Art de los Santos on a loan modification and accept his money, on Friday, February 24, government-owned mortgage giant Freddie Mac asked the court to force Sheriffs to evict the embattled homeowner and his family.

A Sheriffs notice to vacate expired last Tuesday morning, and a large crowd of supporters has stood with Art, his wife Magda, and their four kids awaiting the arrival of deputies to the house. While the ongoing ordeal has generated literally hundreds of inquiries to Freddie Mac from across the country regarding their policies for working with at-risk homeowners, the company has apparently decided to have the family removed at all costs.

For months, Art has waged a public campaign to convince Freddie Mac and JP Morgan Chase to reverse the foreclosure and issue him a loan modification, and to stop ignoring the thousands of homeowners in his situation:

•Art, a long-time factory supervisor who spent five years in the Marine Corps, purchased his home almost ten years ago and lives there with his wife and four kids

•in 2009, Art asked JP Morgan Chase for a loan modification, anticipating a drop in hours at work – and was told tomiss payments in order to qualify

•after missing some payments, JP Morgan Chase and Freddie Mac granted Art a temporary modification and Art complied with all the terms of the modification

•JP Morgan Chase and Freddie Mac rejected Art for a permanent modification because his income had recovered – but, instead of allowing him to catch up, they quickly foreclosed on the home

•the two companies have consistently refused to reconsider their decision, instead releasing statement after statement that mischaracterize the sequence of events and blame Art for their own mistakes

De los Santos vows to keep fighting on behalf of his family and thousands of homeowners being ignored or improperly foreclosed on by JP Morgan Chase and/or Freddie Mac.